The Family Business Sub-Committee
As Chair of the Family Business Sub Committee I can report that over the years one of the main concerns of family practitioners has been funding. Many of the Committee members practise within the public funding arena. This is set to become an increasing challenge as there is no doubt that the scope of family legal aid is to be reduced. The smooth running of some legal aid firms will not have been assisted by the turmoil and uncertainty regarding legal aid contracts last year.
This year is also set to be a year of change and adaptation with the closure of some of our local courts and the introduction of the new Family Procedure Rules in April 2011.The Law Commission has now published its consultation paper on pre nuptial agreements which will be of interest to all Committee members who are ancillary relief practitioners.
With the emphasis in the press on considering mediation and other methods of dispute resolution another area worthy of mention is Collaborative Law. Many of the Committee members are trained Collaborative Lawyers. The concept is that both parties and their lawyers agree at the outset, by way of a participation agreement, that they will not use the Court to resolve their differences .Both lawyers and the parties commit to reaching an agreement to resolve their differences by a series of four-way meetings between lawyers and both parties. When agreement is reached this is submitted to the Court for approval by way of consent order. Thus the agreement reached is binding on both parties. Now that the Press have a right to attend family hearings it may be that even more couples will consider Collaborative Law in order to prevent their private business becoming public knowledge.
The Committee remains dedicated to promoting and providing excellent conference and seminar facilities to all family lawyers at a reasonable price. There are two conferences scheduled for 2011, The Child Law Conference on 12 May 2011 and the Family Law Conference which will be in September 2011.
This year promises to be another challenging one for family lawyers. There is a real commitment in Liverpool amongst family lawyers to promote an excellent standard of service combined with client care. We aim to continue to make a real difference.
The committee meets five times a year for an hour at Liverpool Law Society’s offices in the Cotton Exchange Building.
Ruth Kearns
Chair Family Business Committee
